Torghen Umber
Torghen Umber is the Lord of the Last Hearth, the seat of House Umber in the North. Biography Far in the North, past the marshes of the Crannogs and the Barrows of the Kings of the First Men and beyond even the great fortress of Winterfell and the ancestral domains of the Starks lies a cold, desolate land. Farmers and herders huddle around fires in nameless villages never recorded on a maesters map, as biting winds lash the endless, rolling hills around them. It is never hot this far North, merely livable, and summer snows are a fact of life. A land of bristling pines and towering sentinel trees in enormous forests seldom walked by mortal men. Amidst the emptiness is the last light shining from a castle on the edge of the world now that the Nights Watch has ceased to be. The castle is called the Last Hearth, the seat of House Umber, and from these lands Torghen was born. He was born fierce and loud even in his youth, and was huge compared to any other child for hundreds of leagues. The firstborn of his father Artos and with his strength a perfect match for the warlike Umbers, Torghen was always the apple of his father's eye. Artos was unique in the Umber line for actually making the effort to leave the Last Hearth with some regularity, visiting nearby Lords and their lands. This was to be of great benefit to Artos when seeking marriages for his children, and would pay them great dividends. Despite this, Torghen rarely saw Westeros as it was outside of his House’s lands. Further, news was hard to come by from the South, and such great events as the Hand's War and the invasion of the Iron Islands were mere footnote and rumour to the Umbers and their people. As a boy Torghen came to love a fight, often found training with the captain of the guard and keen to fight with any boy of similar age he came across. He was ever good natured to his friends even as a youth and loved the company of others, though was as quick to anger as any in his house. His family instilled in him a great sense of pride in the Umber name, as well as who he owed his respect to; those who had earned it. As he grew, Torghen came to excel in the arts of conflict, a skill desperately needed in Umber lands as fortune would have it. The destruction of the wall had brought the Wildlings into the lands of the North, and groups roamed the gift. Devoid of any barrier, these wandering bands had been growing increasingly strong and the levy of the Umbers were hard-pressed to catch the rapidly moving bands that could disappear before any force large enough to threaten them, let alone keep their smallfolk safe. The young Torghen whet his teeth fighting these bands, and was already a seasoned warrior by his twentieth name day. It was in these heady years of drinking, whoring and soldiering in the three-hundred and sixty-seventh year since the Conquest that Torghen would come to meet Rickard Stark, who would become one of his fastest friends. He rendered Torghen a great service in combating the wildlings, and his demeanour so impressed Torghen that they became particularly close. It was this friendship that brought him the hand of Serena Stark, whom Torghen soon found was a ferocious woman deserving of her Stark name. He swore off whores the day they wed, and has just about managed to keep this promise until the present day. The deaths of both their Lord Fathers only sought to deepen their friendship, and Torghen acted as Rickard’s greatest champion and advocate, ever faithful to the man he saw as shepherding the North to greatness. Children would be born to both of them over these few years, and the future seemed promising for the North and its future success. However, what the gods could give they could also take away, and dark clouds engulfed Westeros with the outbreak of Brynden’s rebellion. Normally the now-Lord Umber would pay little attention to the petty politics and schemes of the southron lords, but the situation grew to where Rickard, Lord of Winterfell, had to act. He led his army to the south with Umber participating in the invasion, his wealth of experience greatly aiding the Northern offensive. The war seemed almost unloseable to Torghen then, and Rickard’s nomination as the Hand of the King promised a new age for the North. However, decimation at the hands of the Vale knights would only be worsened by Rickard's sudden death at the Twins. Though the war would eventually be won, it seemed hollow to Torghen, who had lost far more than what little he gained. When he returned North he travelled straight to his home, bypassing both the victory celebrations and the other victorious northern lords. It is there he has stayed the long six years since the end of the war, engulfed in his Houses problems. The situation has rapidly been worsening for the better part of a decade now, starting with the Umber levies travelling south which gave the Wildlings free reign. Not enough returned to even hold the line immediately after the war, and the roving bands grew ever stronger and more damaging to Umber lands. The mountain clansmen and the lands of the Glovers have begun to face raids in strength, moving so fast hastily assembled levies cannot catch them. With the situation having reached a breaking point. Torghen knew that only a Stark, the protectors of the North for thousands of years, could finally and decisively resolve this situation; at least, he hoped so. it came as a blessing that the invitation to the events in Kings Landing came at all. Typically unwilling to make such an effort, Torghen saw a chance to get something out of the war they had suffered so hard to win. Rickard’s boy Jon was Hand and now a man grown. Gathering the men he could spare and some of his family to travel with him, Torghen made the momentous trek from their northerly home farther south than any Umber had travelled in the memory of history. However, his was an uncertain hope. He had known the father, but not the man the son had grown into. He could only hope Jon was made of the same stuff as his father, and that the southrons had not taken his pride in the north from him. Timeline * 347 - Torghen was born at the Last Hearth * 353 - Torghen begins training in war and combat, which he excels at * 361 - Torghen makes his first excursion against wildlings raiders * 367 - Meets Rickard Stark * 368 - Marries Serena Stark * 370 - Brandon Umber, his first son, is born * 372 - The twins Alys and Beth Umber are born * 374 - His third daughter Dacey is born * 380 - Rodrik, his second son, is born * 381 - Brynden’s Rebellion breaks out * 383 - Northern forces are defeated and Lord Rickard killed * 384 - Jon returns home to the Last Hearth * 384 - Jon continues to fight wildlings, now a far greater threat * 389 - Torghen begins travelling south to Kings Landing * 390 - And now it begins Family Tree Supporting Characters * Mors Umber - General, Castellan of the Dreadfort and a veteran leader of men * Jon Umber - Cavalry General, an experienced soldier who leads a band of cavalry in an attempt to combat the speed of the wildling raiders * Hoarfrost Umber - Warrior (Swords) one of the fiercest warriors the Umbers possess and a longtime compatriot of Torghen’s * Marna - Medic, a local to the lands near the Last Hearth renowned in the area for her ability * Byam - Navigator, a hoary old stoat who has been an outdoors man for House Umber as long as anyone can remember Category:House Umber Category:Northerner